This week’s Coffee & Conversation topic: The Limits of Grace in Bachelor Nation
Join us on Zoom this Friday, March 19 at 3 PM EST as we dive into the ongoing racial reckoning of ABC’s hit television franchise The Bachelor.
Rachael Kirkconnell, a frontrunner on the current season, has come under fire in recent weeks as internet sleuths uncovered her racist social media history, including photos of her from 2018 at an “Old South” antebellum-themed fraternity party, which took place on a plantation.
The controversy gained more attention once long-time Bachelor host Chris Harrison seemed to defend Kirkconnell, asking “Is it a good look in 2018 or is it not a good look in 2021?” and calling for critics to lead with grace, understanding, and compassion. He later criticized cancel culture and the “woke police” for “tearing this girl’s life apart.” This raises many questions, like:
What are the limits of grace, understanding, and compassion in the face of racism?
Is there (or should there be) a statute of limitations on holding past social media behavior against people in the present? How about for actions in college? Are some more defining than others?
Does cancel culture need to be reigned in? What fuels it, and why has it gained so much traction in recent years? Is it effective? Who’s leading the charge?
Suggested Reading and Viewing:
“Chris Harrison Wades Into ‘The Bachelor’ Frontrunner Controversy, Apologizes Over Interview” (The Hollywood Reporter)
“How Reality TV Can Confront Its Very Real Racism Problem” (Refinery29)
“Last Summer, Disney Promised Change. Then the First Black ‘Bachelor’s’ Season Unraveled.” (LA Times)
VIDEO: “Chris Harrison & Rachel Lindsay Talk Bachelor Rachael Kirkconnell” (Extra)